Bristol City Council is facing some stark decisions on how and where to make cuts to services - and now it is turning to residents to help mark out where the axe should fall.

Launched at a special media briefing in City Hall, Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees unveiled the council’s latest ‘Your Neighbourhood’ consultation.

Running over 12 weeks, residents are being asked to vote on a number of potential cuts across five key areas – community links, libraries, public toilets, school crossing patrols and neighbourhood partnership groups.

Those who fill in the consultation will also get the chance to make suggestions as to how the services could be modified in order to potentially be protected.

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In total the council needs to make £33 million worth of savings from its budget this financial year and £104m by 2022.

The potential cuts outlined in the current consultation could claw back up to £4.7million.

Mr Rees has always been upfront in his admission that tough decisions have to be made during the budget process and today revealed that cabinet members had “agonised” over the impacts of cuts.

Speaking at the consultation launch, he said: “We are legally obliged to pass a balanced budget and that means that we do have to work within the confines of a smaller budget and a growing population.”

Mayor Marvin Rees will have to save £104 million from the council budget by 2020

He added: “In every area that is going to be impacted, there is going to be a strong case for why that service is in place and why we have been doing that piece of work, and we recognise that. But we do have to have people join with us in making these very difficult decisions.”

There is no single reason as to why Bristol City Council is facing such a large deficit, but a reduction in central government funding and problems inherited from previous administrations are arguably two of the main culprits.

Mr Rees admitted that he hopes last week’s election result will prompt the Tories into loosening the tight fist of austerity, but for the time being the council is in the unenviable position of having to live within its means.

The Mayor is keen to press the importance of residents taking “collective responsibility” for the council’s financial challenges, and wants to encourage communities to comes together to suggest solutions.

In return there is a real sense of promise that opinions will be listened to and, where possible, reflected in the decisions made as a result of the consultation.

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Mr Rees said: “This is a collective city decision about what we want and what we are prepared to give up to get what we want from a limited budget.

“I don’t think it is politically healthy for it all to come on to the shoulders of local councillors, it has to be what we do as a city.

City Hall, College Green

“Obviously we make the final decision here, and we are not abdicating responsibility for that, but this is a city conversation about what we want to be and what we want the local authority to be doing.”

The importance of volunteering is also conveyed throughout the document, with the council eager to hear from people and community organisations who might be able to give their time or expertise to ease cuts to areas such as school crossing patrols.

However, Mr Rees said it was “cynical” to view this as the council shirking its responsibility to residents.

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He added: “Bristol is a city where people want to have a say in what goes on in their communities and we do have to face the reality that as the council has less resource, not by choice, but by national policy of austerity, we have to made decisions about what we do and do not do.

“Where there are people who want to step in and are able to step in we will obviously try and facilitate that.”

Instead Mr Rees presents it as an opportunity for public and private groups to come together and have a wider conversation about “what Bristol is” and how they in turn shape the city.

But the consultation has not gone down well with a number of city councillors, with the Liberal Democrat, Green Party and Conservative council leaders describing the list of potential cuts as “devastating”.

The consultation has gone live today on the Bristol City Council website and residents have until Tuesday, September 5 to submit their responses.

Copies of the consultation can also be read at libraries across the city.

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The council is planning eight community participation events about the proposals which will be confirmed over the coming days.

Once the consultation closes, the proposals will be heard and voted for by cabinet between later 2017 and early 2018.

And in-depth look at the proposed cuts

The council needs to make £33milion worth of savings from its budget this financial year and £104 by 2022 (Image: PA Photo/thinkstockphotos)

Bristol Community Links

Savings needed: £1.2million over three years

What is it? Bristol Community Links is Bristol City Council’s in-house day service for adults with learning disabilities, dementia, physical and sensory impairment and social care needs.

Proposed cuts: The council will no longer act as a provider for people with complex learning disabilities, it will stop providing free transport to all Link support users – instead this will be assessed on a case by case basis.

Unaffected services: The council is looking to maintain a number of its community link resources including its drop-in services, the creation of an independent living service for people living with a range of disabilities, the creation of a centre of excellence for dementia

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Additional notes: The council has said it wants to “explore partnerships” with other organisations such as heal providers to increase drop in services. It will also look at how the existing Bristol Community Link buildings could also be used by other groups and organisations

Councillor Helen Holland, cabinet member for adult social care said: “We know that change is never easy and these are tough choices, but this consultation is your chance to tell us how you think we should make savings.

“Our proposals are based on engagement with people who use the service and aim to provide good quality services which cost less but meet their needs.

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“We recognise the value of these services to the people who use them and plan to work on an individual basis with those who might be affected to make sure their eligible needs continue to be met. This could be through either council services or other services in the city.”

The council needs to make £33milion worth of savings from its budget this financial year and £104 by 2022

Libraries

Savings needed: £1.4million

Proposed cuts: There are currently 27 libraries across the city and the council want to decrease this number to 10 including Central Library.

It is proposing splitting the city’s libraries in to two groups – large ‘Area Libraries’ which will open 47 hours a week and smaller ‘Local Libraries’ which will open 22.5 hours a week.

Officers are suggesting that the north-west, south and east areas of the city will each have one Area Library and two Local Libraries.

The consultation asks residents to choose between three lists of libraries which they want retained and closed.

Unaffected services: Central Library is to be kept open whatever the outcome of the consultation. The council would aim to increase opening times to 54 hours, seven days a week. It currently opens for a total of 45 hours, across six days of the week.

Additional notes: The council said it would consider the viability of proposals from community groups on the retention of library services.

Councillor Asher Craig, deputy mayor and cabinet member for communities, said: “Our existing public library service was built decades ago and since then there have been major changes in population, transport, technology and patters of use.

“The proposals offer the opportunity to explore a range of possibilities which will transform the service including where and how it is provided.

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“For example we are open to suggestion such as integrating and possibly co-locating libraries with other services or community facilities, as we have seen with Hillfields Library & Children’s Centre and The Old Library, formally Eastville Library.

“We appreciate that local people are understandably protective of their local libraries. However, with a smaller budget and many of our libraries needing investment, the proposals we are putting forward will offer sustainable library services in to the future that people across the city can access.”

The council needs to make £33milion worth of savings from its budget this financial year and £104 by 2022

Public toilets

Savings needed: £440,000

Proposed cuts: The council currently owns and runs 36 public toilets and urinals. Its current proposal is to make changes to its 18 on-street toilets, leaving 18 park toilets unaffected.

The public is being asked to choose between three toilet proposals –

1. Close all 18 on-street toilets and spend £30,000 on setting up a business and community toilet scheme. The scheme would involve local buildings opening up their facilities to the public free of charge.

2. Close 17 on-street toilets and spend £30,000 on maintaining one toilet.

3. Close all 18 on-street toilets and reinvest £30,000 in to other projects.

Councillor Asher Craig, deputy mayor and cabinet member for communities, said: “We think that a business/community toilet scheme would be a better way to provide cleaner, safer and more accessible toilets in more convenient locations for residents and visitors to the city at a fraction of the price of current provision.

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“We aim, as a minimum, to double the amount of publicly available toilet sites and ensure that they are spread across the city.

“We understand these are difficult choices, but ask that you take the time to look at the proposals and give us your views which we will then use to inform our final proposals.”

A lollipop lady shows children across a road.

School crossing patrols

Savings needed: £155,000 over two years

Proposed cuts: The council currently funds 80 lollypop men and women across 56 schools. It is proposing to cut this number in half.

The council has said it is considering cutting school crossing at sites where there is an existing zebra or puffin crossing and where there is a low number of pupils and traffic.

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The consultation is asking people to give their feedback on the withdrawal of school crossing patrols in 40 named school sites.

Additional notes: The council has said it would like to hear from people who willing to volunteer to carry out school crossing duties.

Bristol Mayor, Marvin Rees, said: “Providing safe routes to school is very important and we value the work of our school crossing patrols.

“However, we must make changes and respond to the financial challenge we are faced with, which means making some incredibly difficult decisions.

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“We have reviewed the existing locations for school crossing patrols and referred to national guidance and our own surveys before making these proposals according to the highest need.

“No decisions have been made and we’ll be talking to schools and affected communities to inform our final proposals.”

The council needs to make £33milion worth of savings from its budget this financial year and £104 by 2022 (Image: Getty)

Neighbourhood Partnerships

Savings needed: £1.062million

What is it? Bristol is made up of 14 Neighbourhood Partnership groups, each of which has the power to make small, community level decisions. Each partnership is run by a group of residents and councillors who meet four times a year.

Proposed cuts: The council is proposing to scrap the idea of Community Partnerships altogether and replace it with another, as yet unnamed, network of local groups.

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The council suggests that the new groups would meet twice a year to discuss the spending of small council grants for community project such as a street planters.

The authority is also proposing that the groups will have the power to influence how money given to communities by property developers is spent.

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Councillor Asher Craig, deputy mayor and cabinet member for communities, said: “We recognise the value of engaging with communities on issues that affect them, but we believe there are more efficient ways to do this than the current Neighbourhood Partnership structure.

“We have identified three ways that the remaining money could be spent to help local people to come together, take action on local issues and influence the council’s work.

“We’re also prepared to make sure that resources are focused on areas and communities that experience the most inequality.

“Your responses to the survey will be used to inform our approach to finding more efficient ways of working with our communities and supporting community actions.”